Carbon dots prepared for fluorescence and chemiluminescence sensing

Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted considerable research interest in recent years due to their unique optical properties, chemical inertness, facile synthesis from a wide range of starting materials, and advantages over classic quantum dots and organic dyes. Various methods have been developed for preparing the CDs, including chemical oxidation, hydro/solvothermal method, electrochemical method, microwave-assisted synthesis, and direct carbonization method. Importantly, the superior electronic properties of CDs including efficient light harvesting and prominent photoinduced electron transfer have aroused considerable attention in fluorescence (FL) and chemiluminescence (CL) sensing field. In this review, we aim to demonstrate the recent progress of CDs in the synthesis, FL and CL sensing applications. This review gives new insights into how to use different synthetic methods to tune the structure of the CDs, with the major focus on FL and CL sensing.